HiRISE, the high resolution camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet, has now added Icelandic to its roster of translated captions.

“A volunteer for the Icelandic language was definitely a surprise” said HiRISE media coordinator Ari Espinoza. “But HiRISE thinks this is an excellent addition to our translated captions, and we’re very glad for the opportunity to share Mars with Icelandic speakers.”

The HiTranslate Project is an effort that recruits volunteers to help translate captioned images into as many languages as possible, bringing Mars to people with little-to-no English skills. The project is now in its third year, and has grown to include hundreds of translated images in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, French, German, Dutch and Arabic.

Volunteer Sævar Helgi Bragason explains: “I’ve been fascinated by the planets for as long as I remember. As a geology student and a hopeful planetary geologist, participating in the HiTranslate Project gives me the opportunity to see and learn more about the planet I find most interesting. Nevertheless, my passion for communicating science is the main reason I volunteered for the Project.

“For me, communicating science is just as important as the research itself. I want to share the wonders of Mars with the Icelandic people, especially as Iceland has so many geological similarities with the Red Planet. My hope is that by translating the HiRISE captions into Icelandic, it will be a source of beauty and new knowledge for students and teacher to use in the classroom and, of course, for the general public as well.”

In addition to the captions, HiRISE is making slides and tabloid-sized flyers also available with the Icelandic captions. These materials can be utilized in a classroom setting, or by interested people making a presentation about Mars. The new site also has an RSS and Twitter feed in Icelandic.

For more information about how to participate, contact the HiTranslate Project.

About HiRISE
The HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the most powerful one of its kind ever sent to another planet. Its high resolution allows us to see Mars like never before, and helps other missions choose a safe spot to land for future exploration.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and is operated by the University of Arizona.